The Keeper's Assistant
by Kytanic
Summary: "Flowers are beautiful," the woman who called herself my mother would say. "The morning sunrise is beautiful, but blood, Melody, is not." OC/Cicero Rate M for violence and steamy romance.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey there followers!_

_So I've been working on Of Two Worlds... And I'm having a little trouble writing the newest chapter._

_So, to keep myself busy, I decided to write this nice little fic about Cicero and my mildly-insane Breton, Melody. I thought this would help me stir up Ideas for OTW, so here you guys go!_

_I own nothing 'cept my imagination._

* * *

In Falkreath, death is an everyday occurrence.

People die, and then are born anew.

This is a simple fact of life.

But if you take a child, and place this understanding in the child, they become something more. They are not innocent and stupid, but aware and watching. And to them, nothing is more beautiful than setting the caged bird which is life free to the Void.

Those children are blessed.

But most call them cursed.

"Flowers are beautiful," The woman who called herself my mother would say. "The morning sunrise is beautiful, but blood, Melody, is not."

She would be bandaging a cut on my knee that she assumed was caused by a fall. But no. No fall could make such a beautiful cut. Only a sharpened blade could cause the blood to spill in perfect little droplets.

Soon I wanted others to experience it, and one day I went to play with a friend. A little boy, with pretty blue eyes and fluffy brown hair. But when I showed him, he screamed, saying I was crazy. I...I was angry...The screaming was so shrill... It hurt me... So I pressed my knife into his neck, making blood spill. He screamed louder, and I cut deeper. The screaming started to sound strange, like he was screaming from underwater.

Then it stopped.

More people started screaming, and it made my head hurt. I cried and covered my ears. I felt someone pick me up. The man and woman who called themselves my parents put me in a room, saying I couldn't leave. It was too dangerous. I cried. I wanted someone to understand that i didn't hurt him. I set him free. _I set him_ _free!_

Then I heard her. My Mother. My savior. She whispered to me, telling me I was beautiful, that I sent the boy to the void. She whispered to me, cradling me with her words. She told me to sing, so I wouldn't cry. She hated it when I cried.

So I sang.

"_Don't you cry my sweet little child._

_Mother is here to make you smile._

_Fight for me,_

_Laugh for me,_

_'Till father takes us away."_

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_A/N: Well, there is the prologue! I hope you guys enjoyed the dark little child first kill bit. I can promise the following chapters will be longer though. But this one may not get updated as much when I start back up with OTW._

_Rate and review nicely Please =)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, here you guys go! Another chapter from Melody~ I hope you guys enjoy it!_

_I own nothing 'cept for my imagination~_

* * *

I watched the sunlight of a Falkreath dawn stream into my window. And I hated it.

It simply signified another day that I would be locked in this house. Another day that those people would look at me with eyes that told such lies. Lies that were translucent.

I simply sat, as I did every morning, and stared at the window, waiting to hear my Mother's voice again. That sweet voice that chilled my bones and warmed my heart. I wanted to hear her melody again playing through my head, because the silence of this dawn was excruciating.

I sat and I sat and I sat... But no voice came. I started to feel worry coil in my belly. Was she ignoring me? What have I done to displease her?

Finally I stood and walked to my vanity mirror that mother had given me for my eighteenth birthday. I felt strange, empty without my mothers voice in my mind. The silence that echoed through the house... It was deafening.

I stared into my reflection, into my light blue eyes. I examined my face, sharper than most of the other bretons with their rounded a soft features. Where they were soft, I was sharp. My cheekbones were set high on my face and my jaw was sharper than most, and the woman who bore me even said that I was beautiful every day. She would say my skin was like snow, but not deathly. And the feature that most loved about me was my long, wavy blond hair.

I was told I looked pure, innocent. I looked like a princess who would be high in a tower, waiting for her prince.

But instead, I was trapped in a shack for fifteen summers.

Instead, I was the beast that trapped the princess.

Or , at least, that was what i was told.

For years after the boy, I had been locked in this tiny room, cared for by that woman, but never saw the man. I would hear them, arguing and grumbling, disturbing mothers sessions with me. They thought I didn't listen because I didn't speak.

But they were wrong.

And now they were silent.

I stood again and walked to the door, pressing my ear to it to eagerly fill my quiet mind with the sounds of their frustration and turmoil about the animals.

Nothing.

I closed my eyes and silently begged for mother to speak to me. I felt fear and anger grow in me. Warm poison. Then, I heard her sweet melodic voice say one word.

_"Out."_

So I opened to door.

Instead of meeting the man and woman, there was noone. The house was still. As I neared the stairs, I heard distant snoring. I almost giggled to myself, but hushed my laughter.

I crept into the den where they stored my things in a trunk. I hear one night that the woman would examine the things, trying to find out where she went wrong, but she would never realize that she bore a saint and not a demon.

I crouched in front of the old and dusty trunk, taking care to open it silently. When it opened completely, I saw the knife that I had used to set the little boy free. The memories made my heart sting, knowing that it was what caused all of this scorn, but it wasn't an evil thing. I was setting the caged birds that were their souls free from their horrible, fleshy confines. I reached out and ran my fingers gently along the edge of the knife. _Still sharp,_ my thoughts hummed in enjoyment. _Perhaps I could reward them for taking care of my blade,_ I thought happily, glancing toward the stairs.

_"No, child. You must leave this place. Do not bother yourself with them."_

I shuddered when her words graced m mind, and did as i was told as any faithful child would. I grabbed my knife and pulled on a nice dress that was also hidden in the box. It wasn't my childhood garb, but it was still just a tad tight on my midsection, but comfortable enough, the cloth squeezing my sides like a gentle vice. The re-brown skirt covered my logs completely and the sleeves fell off my shoulders. _Just a blacksmith dress,_ my mind grumbled. I had always enjoyed dressing up, but not as a common blacksmith.

I went for the door, then paused, turning to look at myself in a nearby mirror. I seemed... Different. My knife was strapped to my side and my plae bony shoulders were showing from under the dark fabric. I smiled, then opened the front door.

The outside smelled wonderful. Like dead leaves and pine. I took greedy breaths, then stepped out, realizing that I wasn't wearing shoes. _Better to feel the ground beneath my feet,_ I grinned. I felt so much joy upon hearing the tweeting of birds on the outside , that I couldn't help but sing.

_" Mother has blessed me with beauty,_

_Mother has blessed me with skills,_

_Mother has blessed me with knowledge _

_to make the final kill."_

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_A/N: Well, here's another shorter chapter, but I promise they will get longer! I really appreciate the reviews and love all of you guys that even view this page. Thank you!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Here you go guys =) Yeah, this story might be a little slow going, kind of like OTW, but i swear it is going to get interesting fast ;D._

_I own nothing 'cept my imagination.~_

* * *

It was beautiful.

The tree's were all different colors that glistened with the morning light and a blanket of mist was weaving through the forest. _Oh Mother,_ my thoughts soared in delight as I danced around the trees, humming melodies of joy and elation. _It is not as you spoke, it is so much better!_ Out here, in the cool autumn breeze, I had no fears or worries. I could live here, breathing in the warmth of summer and dancing among the snow flakes in winter. But yet, it did not feel like a home.

Perhaps it was simply the fact there was no house as I was used to, or maybe it was Mother's will, but it felt like a strange mystical place, not a residence. So, after dancing among the morning mist until it was burned away by the cruel sun, I gathered some snow berries and a gourd and packed them away in a bag and threw the strap over my shoulder and stepped through a cool, pebble-filled creek. The water chilled my bare feet, but washed a away the mud on my feet. A saying from that woman appeared in my mind as I watched the filth wash away down stream.

_" Through pain and suffering, there is beauty," _She would say to me as a child as she crushed my chest in a corset.

But after I set the boy free, she didn't say that anymore. I felt my lips lift in a small smile. _How naive... _ _  
_

It was funny, those words had stayed with me for so long when all others had fallen on deaf ears. I had created a wall around myself out of Mother's love. None could touch me. But yet, when I heard her say those words, nothing was more true at that moment. The boy was bloody, suffering, choking... And it was _beautiful_.

If only they understood.

I walked further into the forest, greedily inhaling the autumn air and reveling in the feel of the softness of the earth beneath my feet. But, far too soon, the forest ended, opening to a wide expanse of plain filled with jagged, grey rocks that resembled some monsters teeth. I could see, amongst the empty plains, stood a city in the center, rising in glory over the plains as if it were their master.

A cold breeze shifted my hair and I shivered. Then Her hollow and beautiful voice entered my mind. _'Follow the cobblestone road, my dearest daughter. There you will find a friend who will forever guard you as he has me.'_

I smiled wildly. _A friend? One like me? Oh, thank you Mother!_, I thanked her mentally, then ran forward into the plains toward a small farmhouse.

* * *

As I walked along the road, a wagon came into my view. As I came closer, inspecting the scene before me with a more insightful eye, I saw a man garbed in a silly red and gold, and black outfit was flitting from the cart to the forest again, muttering something under his breath every time he left .

And then there was the box on the wagon that I was so eerily drawn to.

I smiled and walked a bit closer, knowing that this must be what I was looking for. All those years of confinement, of all those hollow lies and mutterings of daedra-possessed children finally have ended.

The large crate grew in my sight and with each step, and I felt my hear pounding in my chest , the world around me vanishing as I stepped toward this crate...

... Then the cold of metal pressed into my neck.

The dream world evaporated and I looked up to see angry amber eyes boring into mine, the blade pressing further into my neck. I didn't know how to react in truth. All I could do was stand there and stare with wide eyes. The man finally spoke.

"What is this? An overly curious cat? Oh and Cicero knows very well what happens when a cat gets to curious," He growled, gripping her arm. I simply stood, silent, then I heard her voice in my mind once more. _'Child, tell him you know of me. Speak of the Night Mother'_, she whispered, and I obeyed, opening my lips to speak.

"I'm sorry, but I believe you may be the one I was looking for, and I've also been looking for the Night Mother," I rasped out, my voice oddly strangled from under use. The man, Cicero I presumed, simply pressed the cold blade in further, causing a small trail of warmth to travel down my neck. " You speak of Mother? Who told you to find me? Who told you to find Cicero and his dearest Mother?!" His eyes grew more wild, and I began to feel a small amount of fear rise in my belly. " She did! She said that I could travel down the cobblestone road and find a friend and guardian, as well as her." He examined my face, every inch of it. I felt an urge to shudder under his intense amber eyes that seemed to pierce through my soul. He lept away, angrily ranting like a madman. "Lies, LIES! It's all lies! The wretch does not speak the binding words! She cannot hear mother, no one can! She does not speak to her poor loyal Cicero..."

He suddenly looks so sad, so deflated. Her heart went out to him. The silence from Mother was unbearable, even if only a moment of it. But couldn't he hear Mother?

"She...Never...Speaks to you? But... She doesn't praise you?" I felt my heart clench at the thought. He looked back, confused. "Praise? Cicero?" He started into a maniacal laughter that worried me. I took his laughter as a chance to move a bit closer to the cart. But, again, I didn't make it far before Cicero was behind me, bringing a blade to my throat one more. "Oh, this pretty one is a _riot!_" He snickered again in my ear. I felt his breath on my ear, sending chills down my spine. "But Mother would never speak to anyone, not even a pretty, young one such as you." He pulled me closer, so my back was against his chest, his lips so close to my ear they brushed it with each word. "Silly girl... Turn away and never speak of this... Cicero is feeling kind, oh yes, _so kind_ as to let her escape without... _Punishment_." He chuckled against my chest, a low rumble to show his excitement for punishment. I simply could not leave, even if it meant my death. This was what Mother wanted, and I could not disobey. Her words were my instructions that I must follow no matter what. So, I did what I could: told him my first day I heard her voice._  
_

As he pulled away, he turned and walked over to his cart. I spoke to his back, hoping he might just turn and listen. "When I was a girl, my parents told me many things..." I began, and he paused, keeping his back turned. i took that as a sign to continue. "I cut my hand on a piece of glass. The blood started to spill from the wound and my father tried to cover it up. I screamed and cried and kicked at him, telling him to stop trying to take it away. When he asked why, I told him it was to beautiful." He simply stood, unmoving, and I never really knew if he was listening to this at all, but I continued anyway.

"After that, my mother told me that it was terrible of me to think that blood was beautiful. She said that was a bad thing, and I should never tell anyone what I thought. So I became used to not talking so much, because whenever i spoke, she said it was something strange. She told me not to talk to others. So I didn't, not for a year. Then I met a boy..." I stopped, remembering the moment with fondness. " He... Was important to me. He played with me and was so nice... He didn't care that I didn't talk so much. So one day... When he was crying... I felt so bad for him. I cared for him, I didn't want to see him in such pain. So...I set him free." At this, He finally turned, his head. His amber eyes looking into my own blue ones. "His blood... Spilled everywhere...And the light left his eyes... It was beautiful." His eyes dimmed a bit, still watching me intently. I felt my heart clench at the story that I never told anyone. "That was when my parents locked me away in my room, treating me like some monster that belonged in a cage. But then I heard Her..." His eyes seemed to light up a little again when I mentioned Mother. I smiled. "I left that home after several years of being locked away... To find Her." I stepped closer to him, his eyes never leaving mine. "So... I can't just walk away from Her... Not even if you killed me."

I still don't know what made him change so suddenly. Maybe he was weak of heart when it came to sad stories of imprisonment, or perhaps he believed me, even when all of the others dismissed them as mad rantings... But something made him smile broadly and start laughing like a mad man. "Ohhh, Cicero likes this one! Maybe Mother wouldn't mind having another one to help... But of course you cannot be the Keeper! That is Cicero's part to play..." He hummed in thought, bringing a hand to his chin. "What shall the pretty one do..." I smiled, giggling with excitement. "My name is Melody...And perhaps... I could be an assistant to you?" He gave me a questioning glance. "Assistant? Ah-ha-ha! Yes! Pretty Melody shall be the Keepers assistant!" And with that, we both descended into laughter.

After laughing for quite a while, he offered his hand to me in a flamboyant fashion. "Come with me, Sister! We shall meet our new family together." I grinned some more and took his gloved hand gently. He led me up on the seat of the wagon, then went and loaded one other small box onto the wagon, which seemed to be filled with flowers and herbs. After he was finished, he hopped on the seat and grabbed hold of the reigns. Before we took off, he screamed to the world.

"Onward, to the Dark Brotherhood!"

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_A/N: YAAAAAAY! I finally finished this chapter. This one is more like what the rest of the chapters will be like from now of soooooooooo yeah =). _


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